Term 2, Week 4, 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
The first month of Term 2 has flown by with several public holidays included. Today, I would like to mention a few operation notes, mainly relating to staffing and the building project.
Last week we welcomed Ms Meghann Kimmorley to St Saviour's Primary School. Meghann has recently been on maternity leave after welcoming her first child and has previously taught in the early years at Holy Name Primary School, St John's Roma and St Thomas More's. Meghann is replacing Margaret Doljanin as our intervention teacher whilst Marg is on leave for the remainder of 2024. Meghann will be working closely with our learning support team and will spend the majority of her time in the prep, year 1 and year 3 levels. Welcome Meghann to St Saviour's Primary School.
Building works continue to progress well as our remarkable students and staff continue the learning journey with restricted access and above normal noise in the school. We are certainly well over half way now, with the new classrooms and remainder of the prep playground expected to be finalised in early June. Those who have been into the school lately would have noticed the lift shaft that is being built and this will likely be the last part of the project completed. We are currently working with McNab on some additional elements that will complete the oval space. I am hoping to inform the community on these additions in the very near future.
Additionally, I would like to thank all parents and grandparents who are using the Stop-Drop-Go. Your patience has been appreciated over the first few weeks of operation as we are ironing out all the nuances of the facility. A reminder to continue to obey the road rules around the school, in particular not queuing across the pedestrian crossing on Lawrence Street. If you have not yet had the opportunity, I really encourage you to give it a go as it is a much safer option for all children at St Saviour's Primary.
Next week, I will attend the termly leadership forum hosted by St Joseph's School in Stanthorpe. This is an opportunity to keep up to date with the latest educational trends and projects happening within Toowoomba Catholic Schools, as well as network and share practice and ideas with colleagues. Whilst I am away, Mrs Katie Hauser will deputise, with support from Mrs Ann-Maree Ward and Mrs Rebecca Thomas.
I wish all mothers a very happy and blessed Mothers' Day on Sunday.
Sam Hannant
….experiencing FAITH in the Mercy Tradition
Dear families
We celebrated our whole school Mass last Friday with Fr Michael. It was such a beautiful occasion where we prayed for peace; peace in our hearts, our families, our wider communities and the world. Thank you to the students of Year 4 and the Yr 6 Service Learning group who took on roles during our Mass. Ask your child why Fr Michael showed us the puzzle of the world? And why was there a piece missing? We are the missing piece of peace – let us show love and compassion to others so that there may be peace in our world.
We held a truly beautiful celebration for Linny Saad (Prep W) on Wednesday morning. Linny was Baptised in St Patrick's Cathedral and was welcomed with a memorable ceremony along with her special friends, classmates and family all present. Thanks to Fr Michael for presiding over Linny's Baptism. Congratulations to Linny and her parents, Nour & Firas, on taking the first step in Linny's Sacramental journey.
Over the next two weeks, in the Liturgical calendar we focus on Mother’s Day, The Ascension of Jesus and Pentecost.
A prayer for you all on Mother’s Day
Loving God, you are always with us, holding us in your loving embrace. We place our mothers in your tender care and ask you to help us to support them when they are weary, to show them compassion and kindness when they need it, and to show them constant love and gratitude. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The feast of the Ascension of Jesus talks about Jesus leaving his earthly home and returning to His Father in heaven. Before Jesus returned to his Father, he gave his apostles the task of building the Kingdom of God here on earth. He wanted them to be active disciples who preached the gospel through example. As followers of Jesus, we have been given the same mission – to build the Kingdom of God. Our challenge is take up that same mission by opening our eyes to see how we can live out the mission we have been given. We pray we find the courage we need to be the builders of God’s Kingdom, creating a world of compassion and love.
Sunday 19th May is the feast of Pentecost, the day when Jesus fulfilled his promise to the apostles to send a helper and guide. That helper is the Holy Spirit sent to be our helper and our strength too.
We pray that our hearts will be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can light up the world by serving those around us. May we be more loving, more peaceful, and more compassionate people. Over the coming weeks, we pray for those Yr 4 students who are, as part of the Sacramental Program, going to be confirmed with Bishop Ken on Tuesday 14th May at 6pm (please note new start time). God gave the disciples the gifts they needed to be strong in their faith. God also comes to us at Confirmation to give us the gifts we need to help us live as true examples of selflessness and generosity of spirit. We ask that the Holy Spirit be constantly present in the hearts of these students so that they may be willing to serve those who most need our help and so light up the world with love.
Our Term 2 School/Parish Family Mass will be held on Sunday (end of Week 6) 26th May 9am St Patrick’s Cathedral Please join us. All are welcome! Click on this link to let us know if you can make it. https://forms.office.com/r/77W0WUSa9Q
Thanks for reading!
Ann-Maree
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From the APA’s desk….
With the creation of our Stop, Drop and Go this term I have been privileged to be able to greet and say farewell to students each day. I know that I am making connections with students via these daily interactions. Equally rewarding is seeing loved ones say goodbye or greet their child/ren at the end of the day. Seeing the students through their parents’ eyes helps to remind me of the importance of how our school community works to ensure students feel safe, welcomed, and connected when they are at school and transition away from their familiar home. Students need to have connections to adults in our school who they feel comfortable and safe with. Their classroom teacher is obviously the most crucial adult, however there are many other people in the school environment who are available for students to connect with. Mrs Constance Bailey our wellbeing officer, Mrs Croft our learning support teacher and Mrs Anne Woodcroft-Brown work tirelessly in this area to support students to feel engaged and connected within our community. Each Monday to Wednesday students are encouraged to visit the ‘Wellbeing Space’ that is now in the new library if they would like to participate in regulating, quiet activities whilst building connections with staff and other like-minded peers. Our ongoing whole school work with restorative practices and circle time is very much rooted in the importance of students having a voice in things that affect them and implementing ways to support them to use that voice effectively and appropriately. This work continues as we develop our wellbeing framework. Please reach out if you are concerned about your child’s well-being in the school environment and also remind them of adults in the school who can assist them.
When thinking about this article I was looking for definitions of community and the following quote from Chavis and Lee ( 2015) caught my eye": “Community is both a feeling and a set of relationships among people”. When we work together to ensure we are connected to each other, our sense of community at St Saviour’s will be strengthened.
Wishing all the Mothers and female role models within our community a lovely Mother’s Day on Sunday. Pope Francis expressed beautifully the essence of the mothering role when he described how Mothers show the world what it means to generously give oneself for others, to respect life and to display tenderness and moral strength in times of trouble. Thank you to all of the Mothers in our community.
Katie Hauser
Central Zone Cross Country
On Friday the 26th of April, Joseph Black, Hari Vinod, Olly Goodland, Rose Stead, Aya Doherty, Akeer Adol, Lachlan Giuffrida, Liam McHugh, William Prust, Georgie Hedge, Mia Aylward, Deborah Thomas, Harrison Black, George Gainey, Darcy Phillips, Nina Lucas, Letti Stephenson and Akech Adol competed at the Central Zone Cross Country. All students did a fantastic job on the day with Joseph Black, Rose Stead, Aya Doherty, Akeer Adol, Lachlan Giuffrida, Georgie Hedge, Mia Aylward and Harrison Black qualifying for the ZONE team and will now be competing at the Darling Downs Cross Country on the 14th of May.
St Saviour’s Primary School Athletics Carnival 2024
As you might be aware the 2024 athletics carnival will take place on Friday, 14th June 2024. As St Saviour’s Primary evolves, changes need to be made to the athletics carnival. These changes are to benefit our students and are made to give the students the best opportunity to display their athletic ability in a safe and fun environment. This year there will be a couple of changes to streamline the carnival:
- All students will compete in Long Jump at O’Quinn Street (no qualifying at school). As there will be more students competing in Long Jump at O’Quinn Street this year, we will have two long jump pits and we will only measure jumps that are past a nominated mark. All students will still get three jumps and all students who compete will gain a point for their house.
- We will keep qualifying in PE lessons for Discus, Shotput and High Jump. To align with Catholic and Zone carnivals, only 10-12 Years will compete in discus and shot put.
- The High Jump finals will be on Wednesday the 12th of June at St Saviour’s Primary instead of O’Quinn Street Oval – times will be advised.
- We will no longer have finals for 80m/100m and 200m races. This year all heats will be timed, and we will use the top times from all the heats to determine who we will send to Catholic/Zone Athletics Carnival.
As this is the first year attempting this, we ask parents to be mindful that all events may not run to schedule, and changes may need to be made on the day of the carnival. We thank you for your understanding with this.
Field Event Qualifying
All students in Year Three to Year Six will participate in High Jump. Only 10 to 12 Years will participate in Shotput and Discus. Students will throw and jump to determine the top eight in each age group (boys and girls) who will compete in High Jump at St Saviour’s Primary on Wednesday 12th of June and Shot Put and Discuss at O’Quinn Street Oval on Friday 14th June. I will work out 1st, 2nd and 3rd for 8 Year Olds High Jump in Year Three from qualifying and they will be presented with a ribbon at the athletics carnival. Qualifying will happen in PE lessons again this year as the feedback from students is it is a much more relaxed and fun experience.
Qualifying has been designed so all students get a chance to participate in each event in a fun environment regardless of ability. The top eight in each event (age group, boy and girl) then compete at the school carnival in a fun, but more competitive level. It is important to note that whilst all students are not doing all events at the athletics carnival, all students have participated in an event during PE sessions which is a part of the athletics carnival and have gained points for their house. Qualifying for High Jump, Discus and Shot Put started on Monday 19th April and will continue throughout Term Two. If your child is away during any of the qualifying sessions, a make-up session will happen during lunch time the following week. These make up sessions will be posted on Parent Portal.
Athletics Carnival Dates
- Wednesday 12th June 2024 (High Jump Final) St Saviour’s Primary School Oval
- Thursday 13th June 2024 (Ball Games – Year 3 to 6) St Saviour’s Primary School Oval
- Friday 14th June 2024 (SSPS Athletics Carnival) O’Quinn Street Oval
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me (brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au).
School Sport
Congratulations to Mahaylie Weribone and Joseph Black who made the Darling Downs team for touch football. They will both compete in the state championships representing the Darling Downs later in the year. Good luck and we look forward to hearing all about your fantastic experience.
SSPS Cross Country Photos
Please find attached photos from our school Cross Country in Week One.
Zone and Darling Downs Trials
All Zone and Darling Downs trials will be placed on Parent Portal. Please check Parent Portal regularly or set up notifications on your phone if you wish for your child to be eligible to trial for Zone and Darling Downs sporting teams as you will be required to obtain paperwork from myself. I am unable to nominate students after the closing date so please make sure you do keep an eye on Parent Portal. Any questions, please contact me at brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au.
Upcoming Events (Term Two)
- Darling Downs Cross Country -14/05/2024
- SSPS High Jump – 12/06/2024 - 8:30am-3pm
- SSPS Ball Games – 13/06/2024 - 11:15am-1:30am
- SSPS Athletics Carnival 14/06/2024 – 8:30am – 3pm
Cheers
Brendan Luck
HPE Teacher
brendan.luck@twb.catholic.edu.au
Borrowing and lessons have commenced in our new library!
PLEASE NOTE: Returns are made using the trolley outside the sliding door nearest the College.
'STEP INTO STORIES' AUTHOR VISITS
Next Monday we welcome Nat Amoore who will present her session, Kid Chaos to the Year 4-6 students. Students have learnt a little about Nat as a book creator during library lessons and you can read about her and see an interview using links on the AccessIT homepage St Saviours Primary School Toowoomba (accessit.online)
Year 2 and 3 students will meet Zanni Louise on Wednesday afternoon for her session on the magic of storytelling and Prep and Year 1 will be online with Renee Treml, author and illustrator, all the way from Western Australia on Thursday for a session on Aussie animals in stories.
WHAT A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM THESE CREATIVE PEOPLE!
Happy reading everyone!
Anne Anderson
Teacher Librarian
Preps W's Linny Saad's Baptism was celebrated on Wednesday this week.
It was a beautiful celebration to begin Linny's Sacramental journey.
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BIGGEST MORNING TEA – In the Afternoon
The Service-Learning Group will be raising money for cancer by holding a Biggest Morning Tea – In the Afternoon. This is the first year for us hosting it from our year 6 students who are passionate about raising money for good causes.
It will be held on Friday 31st May from 2:30 – 3:30pm. We invite you to pop into the Mercy Centre, grab a cuppa and a biscuit and donate to this wonderful cause. We will have a donation box in the Mercy Centre.
If you are unable to make it, we encourage you to donate directly to our fundraising page.
https://www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/fundraisers/stsavioursprimary
Our goal is to raise $500.